Stay in charge of your health! Make sure you get these recommended screenings and stay a step ahead of preventable diseases.
All men over age 50 should be screened for colon cancer regularly. The need for screening before age 50 depends on a person's family history of the disease.
Talk to your doctor about which screening test is right for you. How often you should get screened depends on which test you have.
- Home fecal occult blood test (FOBT) every year. You can do this test at home, using a special kit from a doctor or nurse.
- Sigmoidoscopy every 5 years. A doctor inserts a long, lighted tube into the rectum and part of the colon to check for polyps and cancer.
- Colonoscopy every 10 years. Similar to sigmoidoscopy, this test is able to check the entire colon for polyps and cancer.
- Barium enema every 5 years. A doctor takes a special X-ray of your colon and rectum to check for polyps and cancer.
If cost or lack of health insurance keeps you from getting care, or if you don’t have a health care provider, call 1.800.756.5437 and ask about the Washington Colon Health program.
Talk to your doctor about testing earlier and/or more frequently if you have any of the following risk factors:
- Colorectal cancer or polyps in a parent, sibling, or child younger than 60 or in two such relatives of any age
- Colorectal cancer symptoms in your family
- You have had colorectal cancer or adenomatous polyps
- You have had chronic inflammatory bowel disease for several years
Ask your doctor do a simple blood glucose test at your annual exam to determine if you have diabetes.
Get your flu shot annually, typically in the early fall so your protection has time to develop before flu season begins.
For people without symptoms, there is no perfect screening test for heart disease. You should be screened periodically for risk factors for heart disease, including diabetes, high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol levels and being overweight/obese.
If you have symptoms or risk factors, your doctor may want to do an electrocardiogram (EKG) to look at the electrical activity of your heart, an exercise test or an imaging test to examine your heart’s structure and function.
Men age 50 and older get a PSA test and a digital rectal examination annually.
African-American men, and men with a strong family history of prostate cancer, should begin screening at age 45.
Become familiar with any moles, freckles or other spots on your skin, and check for skin changes once a month. Show any suspicious or changing areas to your doctor.
There are no good screening tests for predicting stroke. People of all ages should be periodically screened for risk factors for stroke, including diabetes, high blood pressure, abnormal blood cholesterol levels and being overweight/obese.